Carotid artery disease treatment

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If you’re diagnosed with carotid artery disease, you may be able to have the necessary treatment procedure right away. That means you can get life-saving treatment the moment your doctor sees you need it. 

At Aurora, our advanced care focuses on managing and clearing your blocked carotid arteries though lifestyle changes, medication, minimally invasive procedures and vascular surgery.

What is carotid artery disease?

Your carotid artery runs along both sides of your neck and carries blood to your brain. Carotid artery disease occurs when one or both of these arteries narrow or get blocked. When this happens, your brain may not get enough blood. You’re then at risk of having a stroke or other medical problems.

Types of treatments

At Aurora, our advanced treatments for carotid artery disease focus on preventing carotid artery disease from getting worse and reopening narrow or blocked arteries to lower your chance of having a stroke.

We’ll talk with you about which treatment option may be best for your condition. Carotid artery disease treatments include:

  • Medication: We may prescribe medications to thin your blood so it’s less likely to clot and block your carotid artery. They include:
    • Antiplatelets: This affects the platelets (cell proteins) in your blood to prevent blood clots.
    • Anticoagulants: Anticoagulation therapy can be complicated. That’s why regular health checks at our anticoagulation clinics can help you safely and successfully manage your anticoagulation therapy and lower your risk of complications.
    • Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA): This treatment helps dissolve a clot during a stroke.
  • Carotid angioplasty: In this procedure, we examine the large blood vessels in your neck that carry oxygen-rich blood to your brain. It also helps us look for problems like aneurysms and blockages.
  • Stenting: We may insert a stent – a metal tube that keeps your carotid artery open – during your angioplasty if your artery is at risk of narrowing again.
  • Endarterectomy for carotid artery disease: During this procedure, your vascular surgeon removes the plaque that built up in your carotid artery. 

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